K-Content Storm... Cannes Film Market is a Feast for Korean Films

Film Market at Cannes Festival Palace Basement, Booths Arranged Like a Maze
16 Noteworthy Korean Films Selected Including "Decision to Leave," "Hunt," and "Gangnam Zombie"

At the Cannes International Film Festival, a film market where movies are bought and sold is held simultaneously. Buyers navigate through maze-like booths in the basement of the Palais des Festivals, the main building of the Cannes Film Festival, to trade films. This year's participation scale has not recovered to previous levels. Countries like China, which closed cinemas due to the spread of COVID-19, did not participate.

A representative from Lotte Entertainment said on the 26th, "The focus has shifted from online to offline," but added, "We still hold many online meetings with buyers." A representative from Megabox JoongAng Plus M stated, "About half of the meetings are online," and "We conduct both offline and online screenings (preview screenings for a limited number of film industry professionals)."

Interest in Korean films has become particularly high. Global hits like the movie Parasite (2019) and the drama Squid Game (2021) have led to a flood of inquiries. A representative from NEW (Content Panda) explained, "Many buyers have expressed their intention to purchase from the early stages of the market," and added, "We can feel the elevated status of K-content." The Megabox JoongAng Plus M representative also mentioned, "Companies that previously only handled North American and European films have started importing Korean films."

Screen Daily, which specializes in reporting Cannes Film Festival news, selected as many as sixteen Korean films to watch at this year's market. It gave the highest proportion of attention to Asia. These include Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Broker, both invited to the competition section, as well as Lee Jung-jae’s Hunt, Choi Dong-hoon’s Alien+Human, Shin Yeon-shik’s Cassiopeia, Lee Soo-sung’s Gangnam Zombie, Lee Seung-jun’s Bright Girl, Jang Hang-jun’s Rebound, and Park Beom-soo’s Single in Seoul.

Broker and Decision to Leave have already laid the groundwork to be screened in over 170 countries. Notably, the North American distribution of the former is handled by Neon. This distributor introduced Parasite to the United States and Canada, generating significant revenue (approximately 68.5 billion KRW). Its CEO, Tom Quinn, had previously released director Bong Joon-ho’s films such as The Host (2006), Mother (2009), Snowpiercer (2013), and Memories of Murder (2003) in theaters before they gained worldwide attention.

A CJ ENM representative stated, "Global companies such as France’s Metropolitan, Japan’s Gaga, Germany’s Koch Films, Sweden’s Triart, the Netherlands’ September Film, Hong Kong’s Edko Films, and Australia’s Madman Films have already decided to purchase early on." They added, "We plan to finalize local release dates after devising tailored strategies for each country," and noted, "Japan and France have already confirmed release dates for next month’s 24th and December, respectively."

Even films not invited to the Cannes Film Festival are selling briskly. According to multiple sources, films such as Hunt, Alien+Human, Park Hoon-jung’s The Witch: Part 2, Lee Hae-young’s Phantom, Kim Kyung-won’s Gentleman, Ryu Seung-wan’s Smugglers, Gangnam Zombie, Kim Sung-je’s Bogota, Park Hee-gon’s Target, and Hong Won-ki’s Seoul Ghost Story have either completed contracts or are about to finalize additional deals.

A representative from Lotte Entertainment said, "Short-form content that breaks the mold of traditional films, such as 4 Minutes 44 Seconds, is also receiving high interest." A distributor who requested anonymity commented, "What is encouraging is not just the increased number of contracts but also the high prices offered from Western countries," and added, "We have also conducted many meetings for co-productions and remake investments. We could sense a desire to work with Korean films beyond just distribution."